When Madiba hosted Black Stars

Ghana Black Stars were among the privileged sports personalities who were inspired by the iconic Nelson Mandela during the historic FIFA World Cup in South Africa three years ago.

The late South African leader not only sent messages of motivation to the Stars after Ghana became the only surviving African team during the knockout stages of the tournament, but also he hosted the team at his Houghton home in Johannesburg, the day after Ghana crashed out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage, following a penalty shootout.

For the players and officials of the team, the famous ‘Madiba magic’ helped them deal with the pain of the loss to Uruguay, as he congratulated the team for making Africa proud at the tournament and also urged Asamoah Gyan to draw lessons from his [Madiba’s] life experience and pick himself up after wasting a crucial penalty which could have made Ghana the first African side to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.